Am Are

Those looking for some classic piano trio playing will love ‘Bag’, here Arild Andersen on bass and Gard Nilssen on drums join the fray to start off in typical jazz style before wandering into what some might consider prog rock terrain, with some lovely improv from the man at the piano. This piece reveals Wesseltoft’s natural groove making talent and provides a great intro to ‘Reel’ where bowed double bass marks out a spacious mix that’s ripe with atmosphere and lovely low end for the piano and drums to walk through at a gentle pace, leaving the listener to revel in the reverb. 

‘Render’ introduces a second trio with Wesseltoft joined by Sveinung Hovensjø on electric bass and Jon Christensen on drums and percussion, here the piano is swapped for Rhodes played in the Zawinul style while the bass sounds like a guitar with a savage style that brings a dark energy to the piece. Bells and synth let some light in and the combination of tonal dynamics with the seriousness of the playing makes for a dramatic change in feel.

‘Vender’ by the same trio has a similar vibe but with more groove and some nice drum work, it is reminiscent of Herbie Hancock’s less accessible early ‘70s work which Wesseltoft has always admired. ‘JazzBasil’ on the other hand is a blast with acoustic bass courtesy of Jens Mikkel Madsen and drums from Øyunn, it follows a simple but snappy rhythm that never stays quite where it should but doesn’t go far off track. It actually sounds like Wesseltoft is having fun here and leading from the front for a change. The title track is a beauty, late night jazz with a clear melody from keys that sound like water flowing over rocks in a stream. 

On the final track ‘Think Ahead’ we have Oddrun Lilja on guitar and Sanskriti Shrestha on tablas and harp, with Wesseltoft playing piano and organ, here a quiet atmospheric intro builds slowly with shimmering keys and bright, open percussion while the guitar makes a drone like backing. This breaks into a noisy interlude filled with low level chaos for over a minute before returning a tranquil cohesion, the contrast creating a powerful overall impression.

For Bugge’s fans such as myself Am Are feels like a return to form, his work has always been diverse and unpredictable but here we get a lot of what he’s so good at; bringing the magic out in the apparently straightforward, I can’t wait to hear it live.

Back to Music